North Korea fires 130 shells into sea after detecting military drills

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North Korea fires 130 shells into sea after detecting military drills

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired more than 130 artillery shells into the sea off its east and west coasts on Monday after detecting military drills across the border in the South.

Some shells were landed in a buffer zone near the two countries shared sea border in what Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement designed to reduce tensions.

The ministry of defense said in a statement that the South Korean military sent several warnings to the North over the firing.

The military of North Korea fired after it detected dozens of projectiles fired in the South near the shared border, according to a spokesman of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army.

The unnamed spokesperson said that the enemy should immediately cease military actions that cause escalation of tensions in areas near the front lines where visual surveillance is possible, and that the North would respond with overwhelming military action to any provocation.

We sternly warn the enemy not to stir up an increase in tension along the front lines. South Korea and the United States were conducting a joint land-based firing drill near the border in Cheorwon County in the middle of the peninsula on Monday. The allies have stepped up joint military exercises this year, saying they are necessary to deter the nuclear-armed North, which has resumed testing of its long-range ballistic missiles for the first time since 2017, and has made preparations to resume nuclear testing as well.

North Korea has criticized the joint drills as evidence of a hostile policy by Washington and Seoul.

The 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement was the most substantive deal to come from the months of meetings between Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

However, recent drills and shows of force along the fortified border between the Koreas have cast doubts on the future of the measures.

South Korea has accused the North of repeatedly violating the agreement with artillery drills this year, including one day in mid-October when more than 500 rounds were fired into the sea.